RE: On Moral Authorities
November 11, 2016 at 3:56 am
(This post was last modified: November 11, 2016 at 4:13 am by Ignorant.
Edit Reason: forgot to answer a question
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(November 11, 2016 at 3:20 am)robvalue Wrote: Sorry if I misunderstood. Are you saying human happiness is just one proposed goal then? [1]
I agree it is a good goal, but it is incredibly vague and qualifying it is very hard. I don't think it can be objectified in any way. [2]
1) No worries. I just appreciate your willingness to seek common understanding! I am saying that human happiness (understood in the classical sense of human fullness/perfection/fulfillment) IS the universal goal of every human. It is what we are all trying to achieve, according to how we subjectively understand it. In other words, whatever any individual's goal turns out to be, it is THEIR interpretation of human fullness. It is the most abstract and general "end" for which all human actions are done. Think less "pleasure" and more "the meaning of life".
2) This is EXACTLY the point. Happiness IS living a full human life WELL. What does that mean? The answer is not easy nor perfectly clear. Arriving at a universal answer and full account of this object may even be impossible. Does this mean any discussion is pointless or that nothing at all can be ascertained about the objective reality? I don't think so. Something tells me that, merely by sharing a common humanity, we would agree on some simple and fundamental aspects of the object (and therefore, will have begun to objectify it).